Welcome to the Advent Season! - This time of year, Advent, reminds us that we are always waiting - but never waiting alone... We wait by trusting that God is faithful to His promise. We wait by tending to prayer, by small acts of kindness, by choosing patience over anxiety... In this holy season, we have chosen ALWAYS WAITING IN HOPE, as the focus for our thoughts and prayers...

With a Heart Full of Gratitude... As we celebrate Thanksgiving, I want you to know how truly grateful I am for you. Because of your support, our community continues to grow in faith while reaching out to those who need God's love... On behalf of our clergy and staffs, we wish you and your loved ones a peaceful and meaningful Thanksgiving...

Thanksgiving is upon us, and so is the beginning of our new liturgical year which begins next week, the first Sunday of Advent. Our theme reminds us of one of the gifts we can be grateful for, hope. Always waiting, in HOPE!... May this season renew our hope, soften our hearts where needed, and remind us that GRATITUDE is itself a blessing that draws us closer to God and one another...

As the season of Thanksgiving is upon us, I am grateful for two important events that happened quietly and with little fanfare... The former Saint Catherine of Siena-St. Lucy Rectory is now being used as offices for Housing Forward, The Bridge Center and Faith and Fellowship Ministry... Dominican University gave our Migrant Ministry the Bradford O’Neil Medallion for Social Justice...

This month has been designated for highlighting the legacy of Black Catholics in the Church. On July 24, 1990, the National Black Catholic Clergy Caucus of the United States formally established November as Black Catholic History Month... Through the centuries, Black Catholics have endured oppression, discrimination, and marginalization even within the Church,...

As I celebrate Masses at each of our churches, I am continually inspired by many of our seniors across the parishes whose lives reflect both wisdom and vitality. Their quiet strength, deep faith, and joyful spirit reveal something beautiful about what it means to grow older with grace... Our seniors remind us daily that joy and purpose do not fade with time...

Last week I attended two events that highlighted the gifts and strength of our Oak Park Catholic communities and neighbors working together... As Pastor, I am so proud and pleased of the work so many have done to share these visions and help to make them a reality... What our world needs more of is what we are already doing: living hope through action!...

Sister JoAnn Persch and Sister Pat Murphy are members of the Sisters of Mercy. For the past 40 years they have had a ministry of persistence. There motto is, “We do things peacefully and respectfully. But we never take no for an answer.”... Today, we hear three inspiring stories of people with limited resources or skills who persevere in their tasks...

While Father Carl is on Vacation, our Oak Park Parishes' Operations Directors offer some parish updates... Carlos Guerrero: I want to begin by thanking you for your ongoing support of the parish. Fr. Carl and all of us on the staff appreciate each one of you... Matt Brophy: When I started working at the parish in January 2021, Father Carl wondered if I would have enough work to keep me busy...

The simple phrase “What would Jesus do?” has guided Christians for generations... When we ask, “What would Jesus do?’ the answer is NEVER hatred, fear, or exclusion, but it is ALWAYS mercy, compassion, forgiveness, and truth spoken in love... In the end, the question is not only “What would Jesus do?” but also “What will we do?” As followers of Christ, we are called to be different...

I feel it and hear it spoken all around me these days. There is so much bitterness and hardening of hearts in our country today. How do we not give up on hope? Read Luke 8:4-15... Jesus speaks about the word of God as a seed that is sown but does not produce fruit in everyone... Our task these days is to ask ourselves, what kind of soil am I?...

Brothers and sisters in faith, our country is living through a difficult season. Political divisions run deep... Each time we make the sign of the cross at the beginning and end of our prayers, the cross reminds us that violence is never the answer... What can we do personally? One simple but powerful step is this: examine our words... We need peace and civility in our nation...

Last Sunday, Pope Leo canonized two new saints, Saint Carlo Acutis and Saint Pier Giorgio Frassati. Carlo was a gifted coder and devout Catholic who used his skills to build a multilingual website cataloguing Eucharistic miracles which earned him the name “God’s influencer.”... Frassati embodied ordinary devotion...

Both the world and our country are filled with heartbreaking news about hate and violence against innocent and defenseless children and families. Many of us may feel, how do we connect with God in all this mess? Recently I am reminded of the saying “let go, let God.”... A “let God” life loves others sacrificially...

As we begin a new season of school, choir, Religious Education, and many of our other church activities that bring us together to build community and unity in our parishes, let us remember WORDS can BUILD - or BREAK - BRIDGES. “The way we communicate is of fundamental importance.”...

With the return of our school children on three of our campus sites and the sounds of their chatter and excitement in the air all around, I could not help but think of these words of Jesus, “Let the children come to me, and do not prevent them, for the kingdom of heaven belongs to these.” - Mattew 19:14...

Here we are, mid-August, and our community is preparing to welcome students and teachers back to school at three parish schools: Saint Catherine of Siena-Saint Lucy, Saint Giles and Ascension... Saint Thomas Aquinas, the Patron Saint of schools, reminds us: “Wonder is the desire for knowledge.”...

You are either at Mass or streaming… each is a good choice for keeping a strong mind and heart in today’s world; however, in person is the most desired... In the midst of this chaos, we come to Mass, not as an escape, but as a return to the one thing that will never change - God... Keep showing up for Mass. Keep praying. Keep loving...

Life situations have reminded me what my, our, spiritual anchor is as we stand before the great mysteries of life and death. In the same week, I celebrated Mass for a lifelong parishioner who turned 90 years young. A few days later, I attended the funeral of a young, devoted parishioner who ushered at one of my parish sites who was only 21 and died unexpectedly...

I am increasingly learning these days that faith and fear live side by side in our hearts. Faith is not the absence of fear, but rather the choice to trust God even when fear grips us. Scripture tells us repeatedly, “Do not be afraid,” not because there is nothing to fear, but because God is with us amid our struggles...